MENTAL HEALTH … Victoria Smith and Jim Watkins (Williams County Health Department) relate the implications that the housing crisis adds to the county’s mental health struggles. (PHOTO BY ANNA WOZNIAK, STAFF)
By: Anna Wozniak
The Williams County Commissioners began their April 17, 2023 regular session at 8:32 a.m. Present were Deputy Clerk Robin Kemp and Commissioners Lew Hilkert, Bart Westfall, and Terry Rummel.
Passed were appropriations for Hillside and the Commissioners, credit card applications for the Commissioners and their technology department, a lawn care service contract for the summer, the award of the bid of Project 4 to Miller Builders, and the intergovernmental contribution to the Wabash Trail.
Most notable was Resolution 23-118, which passed a levy for ambulance and emergency services.
This new levy will make all emergency services without additional charge when utilized by county residents and will also allow for the cost of emergency services provided to not exceed their revenue received by insurance companies, who refuse to pay more for the services despite the rising maintenance costs.
Part of these costs are keeping the wage offered to emergency personnel competitive. The commissioners relate the necessity of this levy by noting that we have areas that have emergency service wait-times of up to 15 minutes, when the national average is 5 minutes.
This levy will allow for the continued expansion of the program so that Williams County Emergency Services can get within the benchmarked timeframe for responses.
The minutes of both the April 6 and April 10, 2023 meetings were approved, as well as the bills as presented by the auditor.
The commissioners then went into recess at 8:43 a.m., until their return at 8:55 a.m.
Upon returning, the commissioners greeted Williams County Health Department officials Jim Watkins and Victoria Smith, who shared with them the results of the most recent Williams County health assessment.
Some numbers highlighted by Smith were: 27% of Williams County adults have been affected by poor health in the past month.; Only 13% of Williams County adults are in a healthy weight bracket; 30% of Williams County youth feel hopeless, and 14% have considered suicide within the past month.
The population of Williams County is decreasing, with more deaths occurring than births since 2016.
Watkins then took a moment to touch on how the decreasing population and mental health crisis can both be correlated to the housing crisis, relating that unstable living situations impact every aspect of a person’s life.
Due to this correlation, Watkins expressed the Health Department’s commitment to helping better serve the community, especially in ways that bring the people closer together to help many feel less alone.
A simple part of this can be to make sure all areas have accessible sidewalks, so that people can have the freedom to safely leave their homes and interact with other people.
Eighty percent of what affects a person’s health is outside of the medical realm, meaning that the community has a large impact on the individuals, which is why the Health Department formulates CHIPs (Community Health Improvement Plans) to help target needed areas. The commissioners went into recess at 9:09 a.m.
Anna can be reached at anna@thevillagereporter.com